Cavendish to ride in London one-day classic

LONDON (Reuters) - Multiple Tour de France stage winner Mark Cavendish will head the lineup at the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic in August, organizers of the 200km one-day race said on Tuesday.

Briton Cavendish, who has 25 Tour stage victories to his name, will join his Etixx-Quick-Step team for a race that offers more prize money than any other UCI (International Cycling Union) one-day classic.

“After only two years this race is already an event every rider wants to win and you can’t beat racing in front of British crowds. After missing out in 2014 I was determined to ride in 2015,” he said in a news release.

The Aug. 2 race starts on Horse Guard’s Parade in central London with the peloton then competing three loops in the rolling countryside of Surrey before heading back to the finish at Buckingham Palace.

Sprint king Cavendish, 29, missed the race last year because he was still recovering from the injuries he sustained in a first-day crash at the Tour de France in Harrogate.